


Finding her Joshua

by justdreaming88



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Canon Compliant Angst, Donna joins Bartlet for America, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 08:39:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11353851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdreaming88/pseuds/justdreaming88
Summary: Donna’s soul mark said “Joshua”, it was the 24th most popular name in the 1970s, 4th in the 1980s and 1990s, Donna liked her research but using the name for decision making purposes was a sometimes flawed approach.Contains spoilers for all seasons of the West Wing.





	Finding her Joshua

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [An Ever-Fixed Mark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8523001) by [AMarguerite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMarguerite/pseuds/AMarguerite). 



> Soul marks appear on the body naming your soulmate and in this version of the trope it is only one of their names not their full name.
> 
> Also the majority of the conversation in this fic is directly transposed from "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen part 2". Thank you Aaron Sorkin.

The problem with having the name of your soulmate appear on your arm is how do you live with it? Do you spend your life looking for them? When you find them, how do you know it really is them? Donna’s soulmark said “Joshua”, it was the 24th most popular name in the 1970s, 4th in the 1980s and 1990s, Donna liked her research but using the name for decision making purposes was a sometimes flawed approach. Dr Freeride was a Joshua, but in her heart of hearts she knew he wasn’t the one. Leaving him, driving from Wisconsin to New Hampshire, joining the Bartlet campaign and then choosing another Joshua? Well, that was another stab at hope and finding her Joshua. She walked into the busy campaign office and was drawn to the messiest office. The nameplate by the door said “Josh Lyman” but in her experience most guys called Josh were officially Joshua’s. She quickly assessed his desk, thankful for her previous office work experience, and then answered the ringing phone.

“Josh Lyman. Uh, no, he's not available right now. This afternoon? Uh, he’s got a media session, and then a five o'clock with finance. I can get your name and number and give Josh the message when he gets back. Thank you very much.”

She hung up the phone and turned at the sound of a voice saying “hi”.

“Hi.”

“Who are you?"

“I’m Donna Moss, who are you?”

“I’m Josh Lyman," Donna looked up from the notepad and smiled.

“Ah.”

“Yes,” he nodded, expression amused and confused.

“I’m your new assistant.”

“Did I have an old assistant?”

She thought for a second, it didn’t appear so, “Maybe not.”

“Who are you?” He asked again.

“I'm Donna Moss, I came here to volunteer and the woman assigned me to you.” Donna automatically started walking out Josh’s office as they talked and placed a post-it note on the adjacent desk outside.

“Which woman?”

She mentally floundered, picking a name at random. “Becky.”

“You mean Margaret.”

“Yes.”

“Who are you?” he asked again, really not grasping her point.

“I’m Donna Moss, I’ll be working as your assistant.”

“I’m going to talk to Margaret,” he moved away and she blocked his path.

“Actually, Josh” it’s confession time, she had to do it. “When I said I was assigned to you? I may have bene overstating it a little.”

He said “yeah” between each of her sentences which she took as cues to continue.

Josh backed off and asked, yet again, “who are you?”

Donna followed after him, determined to explain, “I’m Donna Moss. I drove here from Madison, Wisconsin.”

“When did your boyfriend break up with you?”

“What makes you think that my boyfriend broke up with me?”

“Well, you're too old for your parents to have kicked you out of the house.”

“I'm here because I want to work for Bartlet. I'm a college graduate, with a degree in Political Science and Government.”

“Where did you graduate?”

Donna hated that question and he repeated it when she didn’t respond, but she’d said she’d graduated, it was an inevitable question. There’s people everywhere and she tried to focus on him alone.

“Where did you graduate?”

“Okay, when I said I graduated, I may have been overstating a little?” Donna mentally reminded herself to stop overstating things and just tell the truth.

“Look,” he started but she interrupted, needing to explain.

“I was a couple of credits short.”

“From where?”

“University of Wisconsin.”

“You majored in Political Science and Government?”

“And, uh, Sociology and Psychology.”

“Uh-huh,” he seemed to be glazing over slightly.

“And biology for a while, with a minor in French?”

“Okay.”

“And, uh, drama?” She regretted drama.

“You had five majors and two minors in four years?”

“Two years.” It hadn't seemed to bad at the time, and it was so hard to decide when all the subjects were interesting and she wasn’t sure what she was doing with her life except spending it with Joshua. They’re back in his office again now and she felt like walking and talking was something he did a lot.

“Okay, listen…"

“I had to drop out. I had to drop out.” She is determined on this point.

“Your boyfriend was older than you?”

“I think that question is of a personal nature?”

“Donna, you were just at my desk, reading my calendar, answering my phone, and hoping that I wouldn't notice that I never hired you. Your boyfriend was older?” He smirks a little.

“Yes.”

“Law student?”

“Medical student.”

“And the idea was that you'd drop out and pay the bills till he was done with his residency.”

“Yes.”

“And why did Dr. Freeride break up with you.”

“What makes you think he broke up with me?” She looked sheepish at this and is embarrassed by the questions.

He sat down behind his desk, looking up at her, and she sank into the visitor’s chair, looked down at her notepad awkwardly.

“Donna, this is a campaign for the Presidency, and there's nothing I take more seriously than that. This can't be a place where people come to find their confidence and start over.”

“Why not?” She’s offended.

“I'm sorry?”

“Why can't it be those things?”

“Because” but she won’t let him continue.

“What, is it going to interfere with my typing?”

“Donna, we're picking up today and going to South Carolina. If you want to stay in the Manchester office,“ he walked about, unable to stay still, and she interrupted him.

“I want to come to Charleston.”

“I can't carry you, Donna! I got a lot of guys out there not making the trip.”

“I'll pay my own way.”

“With what?”

“I'll sleep on the floor, I'll sell my car. Eventually, you're going to put me on salary.”

“Donna.” Josh leant against the door jam, flashed her an amused boyish smile, a smile she could get used to seeing.

She took a breath and plunged in, “look. I think I can be good at this. I think you might find me valuable.”

The phone started to ring again, but she kept staring up at him, beseeching, and waited for a response.

“Go ahead.”

Donna grabbed the phone.

“Bartlet for America, Josh Lyman's office.” Her gaze flicked back to him, unable to look away, “Uh, yes, I think I’m going to have someone from the press office get back to you if it's related to --yes. Uh, yes.” She stood up as she talked and reached for her pen.

Josh took his badge holder off his neck and handed it to Donna. She smiled at him and continued talking into the phone, the badge cradled in one hand and again reached for the pen with the other. When the phone call is finished he’d gone and she wondered if the pounding in her chest is solely due to her racing heart, or if the soul mark under the left breast is pulsing too. She’d never felt like this before, not from any other Josh. It’s not just the place, the frantic pace of everyone outside the office, but it’s his smile and everything else about him. At that moment she’s sure, he’s her one.

They spend years being drawn to one another, especially after Josh was shot, and she tried not to see the scar bisecting his soul mark “Donnatella”. They don’t talk about it, he never asked if she bore his mark, and nor did she confess. Despite everyone having a soul mark, the media would still have a field day, and accuse her of using her mark to her career advantage. So they stumble their way through life together as boss and assistant, best friends, and Donna knew that she loved Josh, and sometimes she felt like he loved her too. But, there was always a but. But sometimes she dated other people and sometimes he did too, Cliff, Amy, Colin, Jack. Four people out there in the world who had seen their respective marks, suspected, guessed enough to add it up, and no relationship lasted. Each fell apart for their own reasons, but an always unspoken one is that the person on the other side never bore the name on their respective chests. Some women prefer to only date, sleep with, or marry men named Henry, when they bear the mark “Henry”, saying that the can’t imagine being with anyone else, even if there have been five “Henry”’s in their lives. Others, like Josh and Donna, chose people with other names, people whose marks don’t match and whose relationships don't last.

Some people chose to view their mark as the name of an important person in their life, not necessarily their happily ever after, C.J. and Toby are Donna’s best example of this, and yet others view them as the other half of themselves, the one who completes them, the Jed and Abbey Bartlet’s of the world. Over time Donna thinks like C.J., that simply having Josh in her life, is better than not at all, and that there is life without him but still with him in it. Donna isn’t always proud of her choices but sometimes they are necessary. Four times in her life she intentionally leaves a Joshua. Twice, it’s Dr Freeride, and twice it’s Josh Lyman. The first time she left Dr Freeride and she met Josh Lyman, the second times she left Josh Lyman and returned to Dr Freeride, the third time she left Dr Freeride and returned to Josh Lyman, and the fourth time was the hardest of all when she left Josh Lyman for no Josh at all.

Sure, the Russell campaign sparked a certain something in her, a fight and a hope and a promise of things to come. She demonstrated her abilities and showed how much she’d grown, but that didn’t stop her from missing Josh Lyman with a constant ache in her chest. When Lou brought her on board to the Santos campaign, despite or because of her disastrous interview with Josh, the ache didn’t ease. His presence helped somewhat but it remained. It didn’t leave her until the early hours of the Election Day morning, when she peppered his chest with kisses and they bared their marks to one another.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by many soulmate identifying mark fics, but specifically "An-Ever Fixed Mark" but AMarguerite and there is a direct reference to it in this fic.


End file.
